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Sisi Eleko comes down with a rebound against Marist on Dec. 19, 2022
61
Marist Marist 5-6,1-1 MAAC
65
Winner Canisius Canis 5-6,2-0 MAAC
Marist Marist
5-6,1-1 MAAC
61
Final
65
Canisius Canis
5-6,2-0 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Marist Marist 15 8 15 23 61
Canisius Canis 18 13 13 21 65

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Women's Basketball Downs Marist for First 2-0 Start in MAAC Play Since 2015-16

Powered by a near double-double from freshman forward Sisi Eleko and a career-high 10 points from junior guard Giana Hernandez-Boulden, Canisius defeated Marist, 65-61, in wire-to-wire fashion Monday afternoon in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference women's basketball action at the Koessler Athletic Center.
 
Eleko was one rebound short of a double-double for the second consecutive contest, finishing the afternoon with a game-high 15 points and nine rebounds for the Golden Griffins (5-6, 2-0 MAAC), who started league play at 2-0 for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign. Junior guard Dani Haskell chipped in 12 points and graduate student guard Vannessa Garrelts helped clean up on the glass with nine rebounds. Sophomore guard Lydia Gattozzi and Haskell each paced the Griffs from the charity stripe, going 5-for-6.
 
The Red Foxes (5-6, 1-1 MAAC) were led by Kiara Fisher, who had a game-high 23 points with her teammate Zaria Shazer chipping in 16. Marist recorded nine blocks as a team, four of which came from Maeve Donnelly and three from Fisher.
 
After exchanging the opening eight points of the game, the Griffs ignited a quick 7-2 run off baskets from Gattozzi and freshman Chloe Chard Peloquin along with a 3-pointer from Dani Haskell to grab a slim 11-6 advantage with 4:30 remaining in the opening stanza. Each team continued to exchange scores for the remained of the quarter, with the Griffs holding a slim 18-15 lead after ten minutes.
 
The Blue and Gold had one of their strongest defensive quarters of the season in the second, limiting the Red Foxes to just eight points. Canisius held Marist to just 4-of-18 (.222) shooting from the field and held a 13-11 edge in rebounding during the quarter.
 
Amidst a defensive standstill, the Blue and Gold found some offense during the middle of the frame off back-to-back 3-pointers from junior guard Giana Hernandez-Boulden and a deep make from senior guard Jane McCauley to hold a 31-23 edge entering halftime.
   
The Red Foxes opened the third quarter on a 6-3 run to cut the deficit to five, 34-29, with 6:32 remaining. Canisius would respond with their own 7-3 stretch over the next 3:07 to regain their eight-point lead, 41-33. Leading the way was Haskell with five points of her own with Eleko adding in a layup. Each side would exchange baskets as the quarter ended, allowing Canisius to maintain its lead, 44-38. 
 
Ahead nine late in the fourth quarter, Marist began storming back, scoring eight of nine points, propelled by six striaght from Kiara Fisher over a 39-second span to cut the Griffs lead to just two, 60-58, with 24 seconds remaining. The Griffs would secure the victory at the free-throw line, going 5-for-6 from the charity stripe, with Haskell and Eleko each going 2-of-2, over the final 19 seconds of the game to secure the four-point victory. 
 
Postgame Comments from Head Coach Sahar Nusseibeh  
Game Notes
• This is the first time since a stretch from March 1, 2001 through Jan. 24, 2003 that Canisius defeated Marist in consecutive contests.
• This was the third wire-to-wire victory for Canisius this season, having also defeated Colgate (Nov. 22) and St. Bonaventure (Dec. 7) in similar fashion. 
• Hernandez-Boulden hit her first career 3-pointer at the 4:22 mark of the second quarter. She finished the game with two makes from beyond the arc while establishing a career-high in scoring with 10 points.
• Both teams shot below 45% from the field with Canisius finishing 23-for-57 (.404) while Marist concluded the afternoon 21-for-61 (.344)
• This was the fifth time this season and first time in MAAC play that Canisius allowed an opponent to score ten or less points in a quarter as they limited the Red Foxes to just eight tallies in the second frame. The last instance came on Dec. 7 against St. Bonaventure when the Blue and Gold held the Bonnies to just eight points in the fourth quarter.
• Garrelts almost played the entire contest, appearing in 39 minutes and 56 seconds of action against the Red Foxes.

Up Next
The Blue and Gold will go on their holiday break before returning to action Dec. 29 with a MAAC road contest at Manhattan. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m., with the game streaming on ESPN+. 
 
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